Here comes! The man who replaced Zubac alone! Officially join the Suns

On August 11, according to NBA reporter Michael Scotto, former Lakers and Thunder player Mike Muscala joins Suns coach Jordan Ott's coach and will serve as the Suns' assistant coach in the new season. Muscala officially retired in the summer of 2024. He had no experience as an assistant coach before. Why did Jordan Ultra look for him?

From 2013 to 2016, Jordan Ott served as an assistant coach for the Hawks, and Muscala also played for the Hawks, and the two established a good personal relationship. Now Jordan Ultra is the first time he has served as head coach. He has no fixed assistant coach team and can only find him from his acquaintances. Let me say one more thing: The Suns will pay the four coaches next season.

On May 14, 2023, Monty Williams was dismissed, with the contract having three years and $21 million left; on May 9, 2024, Vogel was dismissed, with the contract having four years and $26 million left; on April 15, 2025, Budenholzer was dismissed, with the contract having four years and $40 million left. Jordan Ultra is a 4-year contract, the amount is unknown.

The Suns coach may be the easiest job in the NBA. He will be over after one year of work and will be paid after a few years of lying home. Every head coach will hire an assistant coach whom he trusts, and once the head coach is fired, most assistant coaches will also be fired. The annual salary of NBA assistant coaches is about 500,000 to 1 million US dollars, and the annual salary of top assistant coaches can reach 1.5 million to 2 million US dollars.

Back to Muscala, he was born on July 1, 1991, with a height of 2.08 meters and a wingspan of 2.16 meters. In the 2013 NBA Draft, Muscala was selected with the 44th overall pick and played for the Hawks in the first five seasons of his career. His rookie contract is $2.9 million for four years and renewed his contract with the Hawks for $10 million in the summer of 2017.

In the summer of 2018, the Thunder, the Eagles and the 76ers completed the three-party transaction, Cameron Anthony was sent to the Eagles, Schroeder and others were sent to the Thunder, and Muscala was sent to the 76ers. On February 6, 2019, the 76ers traded Muscala to the Clippers. Two days later, on February 8, 2019, the Clippers gave Muscala to the Lakers again.

This deal is an eternal pain in the hearts of Lakers fans! In order to get Muscala, the Lakers gave Michael Beasley and Zubac to the Clippers at that time. There is a saying that Zubac asked for an contract renewal of $8 million, and the Lakers intend to make room for signing Leonard in the summer of 2019, so they can only send Zubac away in advance.

Zubac's contract with the Lakers was $3.24 million for three years, expired in the summer of 2019, and his salary in the 2018-19 season was only $1.54 million. In the summer of 2019, Muscala left the Lakers after his contract expired, and the Clippers renewed Zubac contract for four years and $28 million. The Lakers failed to sign Leonard naked, but fortunately, they got a deal with the Thick Brow.

Since then, Muscala has been reborn in the Thunder, Celtics, Wizards and Pistons, and announced his retirement in the summer of 2024. Throughout his NBA career, Muscala played 548 regular season games and only started 45 games. He averaged 15 minutes per game, scored 5.8 points, 3.1 rebounds and 0.8 assists, and shot from three events: 45.1%, 37.3%, and 83%.

Muscala's total career salary is about $28.43 million. What memories do you still have about this man?